Purpose

This outlines the district-wide practice for responding to incidents of urinary and/or fecal incontinence in potty trained students enrolled in K–12 programs within the Archuleta School District. The goal is to ensure that all students are treated with dignity, their basic needs are met, and that school staff are supported with clear, consistent guidelines.

Definitions

For the purposes of this practice, incontinence refers to the involuntary loss of bladder or bowel control during school hours, not related to a diagnosed medical condition.

For the purposes of this practice, potty trained refers to a student who has two or less bathroom accidents per week. 

Procedures

When an episode of incontinence occurs:

• A staff member will discreetly escort or direct the student to a private area such as the health office or designated care space such as a private restroom.
  
  
• The student will be provided with:
  
  
• Access to clean clothing if available through donated school resources. Parents/Guardians are encouraged to pack a set of clean clothes in a student’s backpack if incontinence is expected or if there is a history of incontinence. 
• If size appropriate, clean clothing is not available for the student, the parent/guardian will be contacted to request for them to supply a change of clothes for the student.
• The student will not be able to remain at school without a clean change of clothes due to health/safety regulations. 
• Personal hygiene supplies (wipes, soap, etc.).
• Private area to perform personal care. 
• Assistance or supervision as needed, considering the student’s age and level of independence.
• Assistance or supervision can be provided by any administrator, nurse, health aide, educator, paraprofessional, aide, or counselor as delegated, directed and/or available. 
• Student independence in personal care will be promoted as much as possible.
  
  
• Soiled clothing will be bagged and sent home with the student, along with a note to parents/guardians.
  
  

Documentation

• Each incident will be logged as a health office visit.
  
  

Parent/Guardian Notification

• Parents/guardians will be contacted to inform them if more than two incidents happen in one week or to discuss any patterns or concerns.
  
  

Staff Roles & Responsibilities

• Teachers and classroom staff: Should allow reasonable and prompt bathroom access to try to reduce incontinence. Students should not be penalized for requesting frequent or urgent bathroom use.
  
  
• School nurses or health aides: Provide hygienic care, document incidents, and coordinate follow-up.
  
  
• Administrators: Ensure staff are trained on this practice and that school facilities are equipped to manage student incontinence with discretion and care.
  
  
• Counselors/Support staff: May be referred by the school nurse or health aides to assess whether the behavior is related to anxiety, trauma, or social-emotional concerns, and coordinate appropriate referrals.
  
  

When to Refer for Further Evaluation

If toileting accidents:

• Occur frequently (e.g., more than 2 times per week for more than one week),
  
  
• Are associated with behavioral concerns such as emotional outbursts or other unexpected actions such as fecal smearing,
  
  
• Or persist beyond developmental expectations (ie. in upper elementary or secondary grades),
  
  

The school team should:

• Recommend medical consultation with parent/guardian involvement as a first step to ensure no physiological etiology,
• Explore other referrals such as developmental psychiatry, counseling, etc if no medical diagnosis is determined to be the cause of incontinence issues. 

Health Care Plans:

• Should be considered for medical diagnoses that indicate a physical cause for incontinence. 
• Require review and signature (prescription) from an approved Colorado medical provider (MD, DO, NP, PA). 
• Will have an expiration date. Most health care plans would be expected to be short term (ie. 6-12 weeks) and have an expiration date in which normal toileting control would be expected to return after impaction, acute illness, etc. 
• Would not be appropriate to provide potty training instruction to a student. 
• Will be followed as closely as reasonably possible as prescribed by a medical provider except for the below exceptions.
  
  

Limitations

Potty training requires dedicated and specially trained staff as well as repeat and time-intensive bathroom breaks that cause extensive loss of instructional time. Due to these considerations, Archuleta School District can not perform potty training as a school service. Some 504s and IEPs may have tasks or goals within them that resemble potty training; however, would not be considered potty training, but rather considered an Activity of Daily Living. 

Per the ADA, Section 504, and IDEA, Archuleta School District will comply and provide reasonable accommodations to all children who have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, who have a history or record of such an impairment, who have specific disabilities who, by reason thereof, need specially designed instruction and related services.

In the event that the school system is unable to meet the demands of a prescribed health care plan after reasonable efforts, parents/guardians will be notified that the district is unable to accommodate this request and will collaborate on a plan to ensure a productive school day for the student. 

The District Nurse reserves the right to decline to accept a prescribed care plan from a medical provider if the care plan does not align with developmentally safe practices or can not be safely or appropriately followed within the public school system setting.